Shannon here: Lori DeJong shares her inspiration for her Contemporary Romance, Love’s True Home. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for a signed print copy, U.S. only. Deadline: Jun 29th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Lori:
A Second Chance at a First Impression
Have you ever wished you had another chance to make a first impression? I know I certainly have. Whether it was something I inadvertently said, a particular mood I was in, or a decision I made, there have been times when someone who had never met me before may not have walked away with the most positive opinion of me. Sad but true.
I believe that’s how Allyson Kincaid might feel. She was first introduced to readers as the former girlfriend of my male protagonist in Love’s True Calling, my debut novel that came out last year. After a year away following their break-up, she returned to Arlington, Texas, with hopes of reconnecting with Wyatt. Not the best first impression for readers.
However, I knew there was more to Ally, and I so wanted her to have her happily-ever-after. And when Zane appeared at the end of Love’s True Calling, I knew he was the guy for her. But she first had to get over Wyatt and be ready to move on from a broken heart. She leans hard into her faith and has come a long way by the time she finds herself a guest at Wyatt and Harper’s wedding in the opening of my upcoming release, Love’s True Home.
But her resolve is tested from the first page when she can’t get out of the way of a flying bouquet. Nothing at all awkward about catching the bouquet at your ex’s wedding, right?
But could it be that this wedding, which marks the end of one dream, might hold the spark for a new one?
From Chapter One of Love’s True Home:
Shannon set a glass of punch on the table before taking her seat. “Who is that tall, scrumptious-looking drink of water? With the flower girl.”
Ally followed Shannon’s line of sight to a dark-haired man with a little slip of a girl in a frilly, white dress perched on his back, his elbows hooked around her legs. He jostled her up and down, and her giggles rang out across the room. His suit coat and tie were no doubt hanging on a chair in deference to the mid-July Dallas heat, and he’d rolled the sleeves of his white dress shirt to just below his elbows. His wide smile never left his face, and Shannon was right. He was tall—at least as tall as Wyatt, who at six-foot-two had been the perfect height for Ally’s five-nine. Back when it mattered.
“Considering the girl is Harper’s niece, my guess would be a family member. Maybe a cousin?” Her hand found the pendants hanging from a thin, silver chain around her neck, her index finger running across the surface of the little house that hung there with four others. One in the shape of Texas, another of a small dog, a bouquet of flowers, and the last one a cross, reminding her to keep Jesus in the middle of it all. Her dream charms, she called them. Like her own personal vision board worn above her heart.
“Maybe. No wedding ring.” Shannon picked up her glass. “I saw him earlier and looked.”
Ally let go of the small charm and laughed at her friend. “You’re impossible.”
Shannon finished off her punch and looked back across the room at the handsome stranger. “Cute-guy-with-no-wedding-ring doesn’t look like he has a plus one. You should ask him to dance when they start.”
“Not happening. He’s all yours.”
“No, ma’am. I’m taking a break from dating after things went south with Joel.” Her always bright countenance clouded. “I wish he hadn’t left ConnectUP [student ministries] just because we broke up. The kids loved him, and he enjoyed working with them so much. I feel like I ruined that for him.”
Ally reached over and rubbed Shannon’s shoulder. “His reaction is not your fault. You couldn’t stay in a relationship you didn’t believe was right for you. And if it wasn’t right for you, then it wasn’t right for him. He’ll see that someday.”
Just as she had. Finally. Coming back from a year-long, self-imposed sabbatical in Central America to find Wyatt had moved on squashed any hope he might have reconsidered in her absence. But seeing him with Harper over the last several months, well, it was impossible not to know he was with exactly who he should be.
Hmm. Who is this handsome stranger, and will he get that dance? You can find that out and more when Love’s True Home releases on June 25!
Question for Readers: Have you ever had a past love who remained a good friend? How do they fit into your life?
About Lori: Lori DeJong (pronounced DeeYung) is a contemporary Christian romance author who enjoys penning stories full of grace and the redemptive power of God’s love that inspire others to hope regardless of circumstance, find joy in the moment, and grow in their faith.
Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Lori arrived in Texas in 2005 and dug those roots right in. She currently resides in beautiful Georgetown, north of Austin, with her husband of three decades. Other than their two fur-babies, their nest is empty, as their daughter settled in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, where she is thriving in her faith and career.
Lori loves to write about love and romance and all that fun stuff, with a firm foundation of faith. Clean but sassy, sparkly, and even goose-bumpy romance, with God in the middle and characters seeking and learning and changing, couldn’t be more heartwarming or spine-tingly.
Lori’s debut novel, “Love’s True Calling”, Book One of her True Calling Series, is the 2022 winner of the ACFW Genesis Award, a double finalist in the 2024 Selah Awards, a finalist in the 2024 FHL Reader’s Choice Awards, and was released in June 2023. “Love’s True Home” is Book Two in the series and releases June 25, 2024, and “Love’s True Measure” will release in June 2025. Lori’s Christmas novella, “Jingle Bell Matchmakers”, releases as part of “A Match Made at Christmas” novella collection in October 2024. Learn more & connect:
Lori’s Website Join Lori’s Community Lori’s Instagram
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About the book – Love’s True Home:
Allyson Kincaid needs roots. Born and raised on the foreign mission field, all she wants is home and hearth on American soil. Finally past the break-up with the man she’d thought was the love of her life, she’s ready to put herself back out there. Too bad the first guy who’s made her pulse skip in nearly two years dreams of a life spent in foreign missions. She’s been there, done that, and, although she supports him in his calling, knows his choice means she’ll be laying even more broken dreams, and a newly shattered heart, at the feet of Jesus.
When Zane Carpenter relocates to Arlington, Texas, his seventh move in thirteen years, his only thought is to meet his obligation with Becker Ministries in a few months, then take a foreign mission assignment, his dream for the past several years. But working so closely with Ally in student ministry has him feeling things he’s never experienced. He’s ready for a future with her, until he accepts an opportunity to work on foreign soil and Ally stays behind. He knows God put him there for a reason, although his heart still longs for the girl back home.
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Hm…not really a past love…not on my part. I had a male friend who was in love with me but we were very good friends 🙂
Thanks for sharing, Natalya! I’m glad that didn’t make your friendship awkward and that you could remain friends. I had a very good friend in high school that I had an enormous crush on. I never let him know, though, and we’re still friends to this day. Crush is over, thank goodness. Haha!
No, I haven’t had any like that.
no
No, haven’t really had that experience, but maybe it’s not too late? Ha Ha
I love that, Delores!! No, it’s never too late! Thanks for commenting!
I have a winner! Maryann won the drawing. I appreciate Lori for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.
Congrats, Maryann!! I hope you enjoy Zane and Ally’s story. And thank you, Shannon, for having me! I love your blog and it’s been a privilege to be here.